We knew heading into Week 6 that it would punch a little harder. Up to this point, the Suns have taken care of business, but most of that work has come against teams below .500. They entered the week 8-3 in those matchups, which tells you they handle the teams they are supposed to. Against winning teams, they were 3-3. So if you judge this stretch through that single lens, they failed the test. They went 1-0 against sub-.500 teams and 0-3 against teams over .500.
That can feel sour. You want them stacking wins against contenders because we have seen them stay in games. The next phase is turning those swings and punches into results. Getting from close to complete.
But success does not always live loud in the standings. Week 6 reminded us of that. They were outscored by 44 across those three losses, yet they never lost their identity as a team that scraps, frustrates, and keeps coming. The schedule did them no favors, and I will talk about that later, but the fire was still there even if the wins were not.
21 games in, you want to know your team. Who are they, really? How do they respond when the room tightens? The Suns answered that. They compete. They hang. They make you earn everything. That foundation matters and it is safe to say it’s been built. Over time, those same tight games against strong teams will begin to tilt. They will force them to tilt.
So no, it was not an ideal week for the standings. But, because they have taken care of the games they should to this point in the season, they sit three games above .500 and the confidence still breathes. 61 games remain. Plenty of road. With the concrete poured, now comes the building.
Let’s just hope that they don’t add as many bricks as they had this week.
Week 6 Record: 1-3
vs. Houston Rockets, L, 114-92
Possession Differential: -1.1
Turnover Differential: -7
Offensive Rebounding Differential: +1
This was one of those games where the final score does not tell the truth. You open the box score, see the ending margin, and think the Suns got smacked by Houston. That was not the experience.
They stayed in the fight deep into the fourth. They trimmed it to five more than once, kept pulling at the rope, kept themselves in range. They could not flip it into a lead. It felt like they were inches from fresh air, fingertips on the ledge.
What it really showed was how competitive this group still is, even when the more talented roster is wearing red and white. It makes you think about where this goes when bodies return, when fresh legs and real spacing show up beside Devin Booker again. It makes you wonder what is waiting down the road once health finally sits on their side instead of across the table.
@ Sacramento Kings, W, 112-100
Possession Differential: -3.6
Turnover Differential: -5
Offensive Rebounding Differential: +8
Beat who you are supposed to beat, and the Suns did that with their one win this week.
Yeah, it came against a team that sits under .500, but those games matter as much as anything. You have to stack them. If you slip in those spots, the foundation for a losing streak starts pouring itself, brick by brick, before you even notice.
@ Oklahoma City Thunder, L, 123-119
Possession Differential: +1.2
Turnover Differential: -8
Offensive Rebounding Differential: +10
This one felt like a statement, even if I walk away without a win to point at.
It told us that this group can stand across from the best team in the league, take the punches, and swing right back. No moral banners to hang, no silver star stickers handed out, but this game built confidence in a way the standings will never show. It was proof that Phoenix belongs in these conversations. Not everyone sees that yet. We do.
And now the league starts to look up, tilt their head a little, and wonder what exactly is happening in the desert.
vs. Denver Nuggets, L, 130-112
Possession Differential: +4.2
Turnover Differential: -9
Offensive Rebounding Differential: +1
Doesn’t matter how many extra possessions you rack up if the ball refuses to fall through the net. Denver hit 58% of their threes while Phoenix fired off four more attempts and walked away with six fewer makes. They finished 6-of-18 from deep at 33.3%. That is +18 from distance for Denver.
And it did not stop there. The Nuggets shot 57.9% from the floor, the Suns sat at 44.3%. Tired legs can explain some of it, but basketball is unforgiving. If you cannot shoot, you cannot win.
Inside the Possession Game
Weekly Possession Differential: +0.7
Weekly Turnover Differential: +1
Offensive Rebounding Differential: +20
Year-to-Date Over/Under .500: +3
The Suns owned the possession game this week. The foundation is built, and everything Jordan Ott said he wanted this team to emphasize is showing up on film. They are piling up extra possessions, crashing the offensive glass like it owes them money, and generating turnovers instead of gifting them away. They tightened up their handling, they valued the ball, and it looked like an intentional part of the identity.
Let’s take a look at that graph, shall we?
So why three losses?
The biggest hurdle for the Suns this week was not collecting possessions or even generating looks. The issue came down to the ball leaving their hands and refusing to fall. They came into the week ranked fourth in three-point percentage at 38.3%. In Week 6, that number was 33.9%, which put them 25th in the league. Field goals fell at 44.4%, which was 21st during the stretch. Tougher competition does that. Better defenses shrink the oxygen around every shot, and the rotations come faster, tighter, heavier.
This is where Phoenix needs Devin Booker to take the wheel and guide them through mud. He needs the core beside him, healthy and available, so defenders cannot load every square inch of attention in his direction. Even so, the game calls for him to pull this group with him when the buckets dry up, to bend a defense with his gravity and take those difficult looks that decide outcomes.
That is the ask. That is the responsibility of the best player on the floor.
Week 7 Preview
Here’s where the coffee gets strong and the pen starts twitching in my hand. Here’s where I tilt my head back and ask the NBA schedule makers what ritual they consult when they stitch this thing together.
Since November 21, the Suns have slammed through six games in nine nights. That is not basketball. That is a stress test on ligaments. Then people wonder why Achilles tendons snap like cheap guitar strings, or why fans fork over good money for a night out and wind up watching half the roster in hoodies. You run teams through six games in nine nights, and this is what you get. Bodies breaking. Tickets wasted.
Swing forward to Week 7. Two games in eight nights. Read that again. Two.
They played in Denver last night, they play the Lakers Monday, the Rockets Friday, and then nothing until the next Monday when they visit Minnesota. Who drew this up, a blindfolded intern with a dartboard?
Let’s run the numbers because the numbers do not lie. 17 nights and 8 games from November 21 to December 7. You mean to tell me there is no version of reality where you simply space that out? One game every other night. A two-day pause sprinkled in once or twice. A world where you do not grind players into dust on one stretch and then make them sit around like houseplants the next?
Instead, we get back-to-back chaos and empty space on the calendar. We get star players sitting because preservation is more important than spectacle. We get Mark Williams only two games last week because the staff is trying to protect him from a schedule that treats tendons like breakable toys. It is maddening. It is mismanaged. It is avoidable.
Think about this. The Suns’ regular season runs from October 22 to April 12. 172 days. 82 games. You could pace that out cleanly if you wanted to. So why the hell do back-to-backs even exist?
Rant over.
As I mentioned, the Suns have two games in Week 7. They travel to the Los Angeles Lakers, then to the Houston Rockets. Two teams above them in the standings. Two teams above .500. Two chances to show they can break through to the other side.
Success is measured by effort and energy, and attitude. Success can measured through wins as well.
The Suns went 1-3 this past week, a number predicted by 25.1% of the community. Where do you think the Suns fall in Week 7? Not many options here…